These Colorful Little Feelings
by SaySaeri
Summary: Companion (and sort of sequel) to 'These Tiny Little Things'. Little chibi neko Misaki isn't the one to want a romance. When he meets Akihiko, who is oddly attracted to a human and heartbroken because of it, he finds himself communicating in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is the companion fic (and sort of sequel) to 'These Tiny Little Things'. This time we focus on our dear couple Romantica! **

**Don't worry, the Sekaiichi Hatsukoi characters will still make a presence, as I said on the last chapter of that story. This story will be a short story as well. **

**For new readers, I will mostly use the term little chibi neko people, or tiny chibi neko or chibi neko... blah blah blah... Tiny little chibi bodies and cat/etc. ears and tail. They can fit in your shirt pocket and all that jazz. **

**P.S. Kyou isn't the main main, he's just showing some backstory.**

* * *

Sometimes, Ijuuin Kyou didn't understand how fate worked. When everything seems alright and the world is in order, half the time it's just not meant to be. That's how it felt 10 years back when he met his little companion, and then a few years back when he met the love of his life. He couldn't have both the way he wanted.

(Cue flashback)

_Kyou cringed due to thunder along with his assistants as they drove along the mountain side facing the ocean. They were heading to a location to find references for the next volume of his recently released manga that a lot of people seemed to enjoy. Some have told him he didn't have to go since the weather was predicted to get bad, but he wanted to go. He wanted the experience. _

_Eventually they found solace at a cliff side resort and hotel, and when the weather looked to be okay enough in the evening he went to explore. The forest was close by leading to a small river and there was no danger in particular so he felt free to go as far as he could. _

_"...myew." He paused his footing at the sound. "...myew." _

_Finding no sign of a cat he kept walking, and a minute later he found his path blocked by a fallen tree. That's when he heard the small sounds of a cat- no kitten, again. It sounded weak; he looked around again on the ground, hoping he wouldn't unintentionally step on it. He'd seen strays around, so he wondered if any of them couldn't make it to shelter on time. "Myew..." _

_He actually wouldn't mind taking a cat home. It was lonely living by himself. _

_When he stepped closer to the tree to investigate, the mewls turned into whimpers, and he startled, scanning the ground around his feet carefully. Towards the end of the tree, that's when he spotted it. _

_A tiny little kitten thing that lay weakly, it's tail having been stomped on with the fallen tree. Kyou went in close, confused by the human features he could now see clearly. It looked like a tiny person- a child, with cat ears and tail. It looked like it was wearing a shirt and pants, but now it was all dirty and battered due to the surrounding conditions. _

_Kyou remembered hearing something about this on the news. Beings like these were popping up occasionally, though their origins remain a mystery. Just like this one. __"Mew..." It meowed weakly, and when it turned slightly it began trembling seeing the outstretched hand heading for it. _

_"It's okay... I won't hurt you-" He flinched as he felt it bite him, and looked in astonishment seeing that it still had some fight left in it. He can feel it trembling through it's bite, fearful. "It's okay," he coos seconds later, using his hand to lift its small body, "I'll take you somewhere safe." _

_However, he found trouble taking the small thing away from the tree with its tail being trapped. And when he realized that only tugging the small creature caused it to cry instead of being carried up at all he found himself frowning in worry. _

_..._

_"Is it okay?" Kyou asked to the emergency doctor, having urgently left the cliff side with someone's car (he asked for permission of course) to the closest hospital.  
_

_"We don't normally get cases like these. We weren't sure how he would respond to our anesthetics, but we think he's okay." _

_"...he?" _

_The doctor nods, "Follow me." _

_"We gave him only a little, and it seemed to be enough," The doctor begins, showing Kyou the tiny human neko inside a small incubator, a bandage around the small tiny stub that was left of his tail. "He was out like a light and we had to remove most of his tail. He had probably gone a few hours with the nerves dead at the end that got crushed." _

_"Will that affect anything?" _

_"Probably his balance. My friend's cat had something like this happen. It couldn't jump or run properly for a few weeks until it got used to it. This little child will be fine. Do you want to take him back with you?" _

_"Shouldn't you keep him overnight?" _

_"I had thought that too, but as we stitched his tail it already showed signs of healing and hair growing back. These kinds probably heal quickly."_

_..._

_"It's so cute! It-" _

_He shushed one of the overly excited assistants, putting down the little creature on the table with blankets all around it. "Let it sleep," he says, leading everyone out of his hotel room. _

_While everyone went to eat for dinner he snuck back to his room to see if the small neko child was okay. When he saw that it was still sleeping he breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing a tiny cough, he looked back down to it, eyes widening as the tiny thing yawned and blinked his eyes open. _

_"..." he said nothing as those green eyes stared at him in bewilderment. _

_Eventually, those eyes glanced around at the changed environment before tears sprung up and he cried, his high pitched mewls only heard from the only man inside the room. _

_"Don't cry, uh..." Kyou tried to reach out and pet it, only to have the small neko child escape from his blankets to run and trip. Scared, the little chibi neko started to cry even more. _

_'What should I do?' The mangaka looked around before remembering that it was dinner time. "Are you hungry?" he asked him, moving his hand forward to help him up. _

_Seeing the hand the child stood up as fast as it could without any help, and retreated back to his blankets. _

_Sighing, Kyou stared at him until he heard the faint sound of a hungry stomach. He noticed then the child pouting and digging back deeper into the blankets. _

_"You're hungry?" _

_The little neko tilted his head, confused. "Uumumu?" he tried to repeat. When Kyou laughed at that he pouted, tears now threatening to fall in humiliation. _

_"Don't cry..." Kyou went to carry up the bundle of blankets holding him, and the child protested until he walked out of the room. Now he curiously peered about, and all Kyou heard until he reached the dining hall was tiny little mewls of awe at every statue and painting they passed by in the halls._

* * *

**Stopping here! The flashback will continue next chapter. **

**This might be a little longer than the first one... maybe I should add more extra chapters to the first story? **

**If you're curious and haven't read 'These Tiny Little Things', go read it, if you please! The introduction to this story is in the latest/last chapter. (Guess who the Egoist couple belong to? Xd)**

**For those who came from 'These Tiny Little Things', what do you think? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Let's continue!**

***I'm leaving Ijuuin's boyfriend ambiguous, cause I don't really now who to pair him with yet. This part may change later. Technically though, he's with whoever you want him to be with. **

* * *

_For the first time in a long while, Kyou didn't feel so lonely. He laid in bed and watched fondly as his little companion jumped next to him on the mattress excitedly, chirping in frustration seconds later when he couldn't stop jumping. In that effort the little thing launched onto Kyou's head to land somewhere. He has been living with him for months now. _

_One of his co-workers had told him weeks back to call this woman named Aikawa Eri, who owned older chibi nekos. While she was too busy to meet with him she told him about how to tell their age by their height and their actions, and in general how much they can eat, etc. He had already figured out on his own that this little one really was a child, probably 8 or 9. _

_The woman, she also told him that they can learn just like any other person. He remembered back when the little one tried to mimic him, but it wasn't successful. At this point though, the little one managed to speak some words. _

_"Kyou!" He chuckled feeling those little hands pat his hair. _

_"Yes?" _

_He felt him plop down on his head, "Am I Cutie?" _

_"...?" Kyou frowned in confusion. "What?" _

_" Assistants call me that." _

_"Oh. Oh!" Kyou laughs, understanding. "No, no... That's not your name." He takes a hand and brings the little chibi neko in front of him on one of the pillows. "You don't remember?" _

_"..." The little neko child tilted his head in thought before shaking his head. "No. No one name me." _

_Kyou pursed his lips, guessing that meant that his little friend has been out to fend for himself since he was a born. He could imagine it now, the little chibi neko trying to find shelter in the crooks of trees and stumps and finding berries to eat while keeping low from other creatures. Since Kyou found him with clothing though, he was probably taken in for a little while before the storm. _

_"Do you remember who gave you your old clothes?" he asks. _

_The little one pats his pajama shirt that Kyou got for him and the man nods. "Clothes..? Oh!" He sits down on the pillow now. "Nice lady!" he falters for a moment, remembering something. "She visit... from... farm." He lies back now, he arms out. "I help her... find flowers." _

_"In that forest?" _

_He received a nod. "Big and pretty, near a river!"_

_"I see." _

_"She call me a name when she thanked me, and give me berry!" _

_"Oh?" Kyou smiles at him fondly, and sounding from how this was told to him he decided that the nice lady was probably an old lady that was a little lost until the little one met her._

_"She say, 'thank you, Misaki.'" _

_"Misaki?" Kyou raises his brow. "She called you that?" _

_"Uh-huh..." the little chibi neko sat back up and rubbed his eyes. "Also fairy. 'Bye bye, little fairy.'" _

_Kyou snickers, taking the little chibi neko atop his chest and petting his head full of hair. "You are like a fairy..." he paused, staring at him for a few seconds. "Misaki." The name seemed to suit him._

_"Misaki." The little one repeats after him before yawning. He rubs his eyes again. "Scary deer take my berry." _

_"Aww-"_

_"Then bear give me new one. Bear let me sleep on it... some time." Green, sleepy eyes look at him. "Can we go see bear?" he asks, drowsy. _

_'An actual bear?!' Kyou thought in astonishment, and a little fear. "Um..." How was he to answer that? He wasn't sure if the bear would actually... _

_When he looked back to the little person on his chest, he found him sleeping already on his stomach, one of his tiny hands to his mouth in a fist. He had a habit now of sleeping on his stomach in this manner, his stubby tail out and twitching occasionally. Hair had grown back on it, his stubby tail now puffy and wisped up, reminding Kyou faintly of a fox's tail. _

_He carefully put his little companion on the pillow next to his before turning off the lamp and setting his head back, closing his eyes. "Good night, Misaki."_

* * *

_Five years later... (of the 10 years back)_

_Kyou sat near the counter of his kitchen, prepping some vegetables while Misaki worked on wiping down the stove. _

_There was something about cooking he loved very much. Taking pictures of food, drawing techniques for his character to do in his manga, he enjoyed it. _

_Of course he got into those slumps where he got very negative, but Misaki helped him through it. _

_For some months now, he had been meeting someone. With Misaki's encouragement and his own feelings he pursued it, and tonight that person was coming over. He actually felt quite nervous. _

_..._

_"Come on in," Kyou guided, shutting the door as his love interest came in. _

_"Thanks," he smiles, the smile growing wider when he saw Misaki up on the edge of the couch. "Hi, you must be Misaki." _

_"Hi!" Misaki chirps, but froze when the hand pet him gently, sensing something._

_"Misaki?" Kyou questioned, for the chibi neko ran off to the bathroom. _

_"I-is something wrong?" his date asks, stifling a cough. _

_"No, nothing... Are you okay?" _

_"I'm fine! Just something in my throat." _

_"Okay..." Kyou said, somewhat in doubt. When he heard Misaki's little pitter patter of running he turned to see, in surprise, Misaki wearing a shower cap. "Misaki?" __The little chibi neko had his shower cap on, completely covering the hair on his head. An additional one was added to cover his tail, tied with some floss to keep in place. _

_"Aack!" His love interest kneeled on the ground as Misaki went to him. "You don't have to go that far for me. You're pretty sharp, aren't you?" _

_"You're allergic..." Kyou said, looking between them. _

_"I really do love them though," he assures, poking Misaki's cheek affectionately. "It's just his hair-" he sneezes. _

_..._

_A month later..._

_"Hey... Hey," Kyou looked downcast at the ground when he felt that familiar small plop on his shoulder. "Don't be sad. I understand." He stared out across the park._

_"I don't." He brought Misaki into his hands and smiled sadly. "I didn't mean that." _

_"I know." Misaki sat on his palms. "But I should. I don't want him to accidently get an attack." Before Kyou can speak, Misaki cut him off with a frown. "I am not putting myself in a hamster ball or wearing plastic." _

_"But I don't want you to leave..." Kyou lightly kisses his tiny head. "You're my family." _

_"You're my family too, like a big brother... I think," Misaki tilts his head to the side, "Or like a Daddy too, cause you read me stories and you taught me how to speak other languages and write." _

_Kyou chuckles, kissing Misaki on the head again before pressing him against his cheek to receive a hug. "I'm going to miss you." _

_"There's only one thing more to do," Misaki said, and Kyou nodded knowingly. _

_One hour later..._

_"All clean!" Misaki cheered, staring around the almost neko-free apartment. "Keep it that way, okay?" _

_"You don't have to go this way Misaki," Kyou said, frowning as he fiddled with Misaki's tiny suitcases that he bought for when he had taken Misaki to America one time ago. "If I find out that you got hurt, or eaten..." _

_"I'll be fine!" Misaki huffs his chest out. "I was raised in the wilderness until you found me!" He walks to a left over, small square food carton to be tied with balloons Kyou got from a party. "The sky is okay at night." _

_"Misaki..." Kyou said, watching sadly as his little chibi neko jumps in, ready to go. _

_"Maybe I shouldn't take anything with me," Misaki commented as he looked around the tiny space. _

_"No, what if something happens to you?" Kyou carefully placed the suitcases inside before taking out his wallet. "How much money do you think you need?" _

_"I don't need money-" Misaki fell to the side as Kyou dropped a small roll of bills. Getting up, he looked at he amount. "That's too much! I don't need that much!" _

_"You never know," The dark-haired man picked up his little chibi neko to his chest and cradled him. "I'm going to miss you so much Misaki. Promise me you'll come visit later." _

_"I promise." Misaki hugs him back with his little arms. "I'm going to have an adventure, and tell you stories next time!" _

_Kyou laughs half-heartedly, bringing up Misaki to kiss him on the head. "I'm sure you will." _

_After placing him back in the carton and tying the balloons, Kyou watched him off with a saddened expression into the darkening sky. Even after that carton and those balloons disappeared out of sight he continued looking out, wishing Misaki could come visit back sooner. _

_It wasn't until two years later that he would see his little friend again._

* * *

_"It's beautiful today, isn't it?" _

_"Yeah..." Kyou watched through lowered lids as his love felt the small umbrella in his drink._

_"He would play with this." _

_"He would." _

_"Do you think he's okay?" _

_"I," Kyou leaned back a little. "I think he's doing more than okay." He laughs. "I still cannot believe I went through the phase of a worried parent. I still have those missing posters."_

_"I know. I saw them when I took out recycling." _

_Kyou stared accusingly, his voice playful. "You didn't." _

_"I did!" His boyfriend sighed, pausing for a moment to speak. "That... That thing you read, about them matching up with particular people and soulmates- do you think that- I mean, I've been taking the prescribed medicine and being around cats don't bother me anymore and I really want-" _

_"Hey." Kyou smiled at him. "I planned for us to pick out a cat on your birthday next year." _

_"Not that. I was talking about Misaki. Whenever we see him again, I really want him to stay with us." _

_"I want that too, but I don't think... that I'm his 'particular' person." _

_"What do you mean?" _

_"I've thought about it a lot, reading about it..." Kyou stared fondly at his drink's little umbrella. "He didn't choose me, he never did; I just picked him up and adopted him. He's like a little fairy I happened to come to care for and he graced me by being with me, encouraging me in my work," he chuckles, looking up at his love, "encouraging me to go with my feelings for the person I liked..." _

_"Liked?" _

_"Yeah, obviously," Kyou grinned. "Because I love you. You're still very likeable though." _

_His boyfriend snorted. "You're pretty likeable yourself." _

_"Of course I am. Breadstick?" _

_"Idiot. There aren't even-" He froze seeing the skinny piece of bread pointed at him, the end of it holding an obviously placed ring. Flushing, he turned away. "I told you no cheesy proposals! We're at a second floor café, for god's sake!" _

_Kyou playfully pouted. "You didn't even look out to your right yet." _

_"Wha-" He widened his eyes at the small balloon that read 'Will you marry me?' From around them, some people began to chatter and watch. "You're kidding." _

_"I'm very serious, thank you very much!" Kyou's eyes twinkled. "But I think we very well know your answer, don't we?" _

_His love rolled his eyes, smiling. "...yes." _

_"What? I couldn't hear you." _

_"Yes!" he quieted, "I'll marry you... Kyou." He ignored the clapping in the background. _

_"I'm so happy," Kyou couldn't stop grinning. "Now hurry up and finish your breadstick before he does." _

_"What?" he looked to see Misaki halfway through with the breadstick and broke into a smile. "Misaki?" _

_"You had quite the adventure, didn't you?" Kyou said knowingly, petting the little chibi neko's soft ears. "Will you be there for the wedding?" _

_"Of course!" Misaki pipes up, finishing the breadstick and lifting the ring to the now fiancé. "Congratulations!" _

_"Thank you," came the sincere response. "You won't be coming back with us though, huh? We didn't even get to spend a lot of time together." After putting the ring on he nudged Misaki's cheek tenderly. _

_"Sorry," Misaki said sweetly, apologetically putting his head forward and nuzzling against the hand. "I'll visit a lot!" _

* * *

_It was a wonderful wedding. Luckily for them though, they got to sneak away early while everyone partied. At the end of the day, all that counted was that they were happy and together. _

_They could remember fondly together when they walked passed their crowd, flower petals thrown into the air. Most of Kyou's fans even got in, cheering loudly and congratulating him. _

_"Smile!" they heard, seeing their photographer. She grinned widely, gesturing them to gather. After she took their picture her blue eyes rounded to the sky to eye the small hot air balloon. "Misaki! Come take your picture!" _

_"Okay!" Some of the crowd gathered to see the little chibi neko land on his hot air balloon. The basket had an attached rotating ring outlining the side bottom of it, holding a camera/recorder that was controllable. Misaki happily jumped out to the wedded couple. _

_"I'll get one like this, and one really close up." Said his new owner, "And then everyone okay?" she adds a little more loudly to make sure everyone can hear her. _

_..._

_"Have fun in Italy!" Misaki said to them at the airport. The adorable little thing had his pilot shades on his head. "Eat a lot!" _

_Kyou's husband laughed and pat his head. "We will." He looks to Misaki's person. "Thank you, Sumiko." _

_"Don't mention it! I wanted to see you guys off too!" She looked at Kyou, who was looking at his phone, troubled. "What's wrong?" _

_"I got picked to do a shoot for "Japan's Handsome Men. They want me to come down and-" He was pushed towards the terminal. _

_"We're going to be late for our flight," his husband simply said. Kyou looked behind them to see Misaki and Sumiko wave them off. _

_"Don't answer your calls!" Sumiko shouted to him. "They'll just pick more guys!" _

_"No work!" Misaki yelled. "Have fun!" _

_"Okay! See you guys!" Kyou answers back to them, walking properly now, hand in hand with his husband. "No work for two weeks." _

_"Thank god," his lover muttered, and Kyou laughed. He felt pretty great at this moment. _

_And then three years later, even more good times will come._

* * *

**Okay, next chapter will be present time. Omg that felt too long- longest flashbacks so far. Wow, you read Misaki growing so much in here. Isn't he such a cute little thing?**

**I think I might have to add extra chapters to 'These Tiny Little Things' to even it out. ****XD **

**Next chapter, in the present time, will be how the introduction in the last story was. With Aikawa seeing Misaki after a long time, and in a hot air balloon (she doesn't know about all this yet). You guys will also find out later how Misaki ended up with his new owner. **

**Remember, Ijuuin's husband can be anyone you want him to be. OC or whatever. Alter the lines a little if you want it to be Yuu or Shizuko...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Tetetetete tetete... **

**Must... update...**

**It might have been too long, so please refer to These Tiny Little Things or the last chapter of this story. **

* * *

"Wait... Misaki?!"

In the present, Eri stared up at the unusually small, but cute hot air balloon holding the tiny chibi neko. While she hasn't seen him or heard from Kyou in so long, she recognized the little cutie almost immediately. His look was so simple, and somehow much more cat-like than the other chibi nekos she has met. Definitely one of the cutest chibi nekos she has ever laid eyes on in her perspective.

"That's so cute!" An comments, with Kazuto taking out his cell phone to take a picture.

"Kind of familiar..." Shouta ponders out loud, wondering where he had seen that before. He was at least sure that it was from a magazine he had read.

"Ehh, are you Ms. Aikawa?" Eri ripped her gaze from Misaki and the balloon to the young woman in front of her. She had a camera bag strapped over her shoulder. "Aikawa Eri?"

"Yes..." She pauses for a moment, before recollecting something in her memory. "That's right..." She remembers some of her time at Ijuuin's wedding. "You're Misaki's owner now, aren't you? Hirakawa, right?"

"Yep! Hirakawa Sumiko. I never really got to talk to you all at the wedding since I was more focused on getting the pictures so..." She waves it off. "A-anyway! Sorry I couldn't really recognize you! When you called out Misaki's name though, I thought it had to be you." She faces up to where Misaki was. "Misaki, you can come down now!"

"Can you only fly on days like these?" An asks her, looking up at the balloon. "It must be hard when it gets windy."

"Nah, it only gets hard when we can't hold it still enough to take a picture unless it's a moving shot. Sometimes we'll just use the remote controlled one then."

"You have a remote controlled one?" asks Kazuto, mindful of Ritsu and Masamune tumbling across his legs. "How long can it last before you have to charge it?"

"At least 5 hours. Misaki doesn't really like that one though unless it's just to take pictures or if he's tired." She holds out her arms as Misaki lands the basket into her arms and turns off the flame. Setting down the small contraption, Misaki climbs out and shakes himself before running to Eri.

"Hi Ms. Aikawa!" Misaki greets, and Eri coos affectionately before petting his head and ears. "You remember me?"

"Of course! How are you, Misaki?"

"Good!"

His voice has her giggling, and she turns to introduce him to everyone else. "This is Misaki!" Hearing that, Ritsu and Masamune stop playing around to go meet him.

"A-ah," Sumiko goes down to sit with them, wondering how to go about this, "Wait-"

[Hi! Nice to meet you!] Ritsu says to Misaki, walking up to him. [Is being up in the sky fun?]

Misaki tilts his head, not able to understand. However, he still bows. "N-nice to meet you!"

Sumiko begins hesitantly. "Sorry," they all look at her. "He was raised with wild animals, and then us, so he doesn't know how to speak in that language."

Eri stares at her in surprise. "HUH?!"

"What do you mean 'HUH?!' I thought you knew!"

"What? I mean, Ijuuin told me he found Misaki in the forest trapped by a tree but not raised with wild animals!"

"Aah," Misaki speaks up, answering her. "Bear took care of me. I... I didn't really know his real name, I just called him Bear since sometimes we would see people running and saying 'Bear!'."

"Wait..." Kazuto looks at Misaki with worry. "Bears hibernate don't they? How did you last winter?"

Misaki shrugs. "I don't know. I didn't start trying to get my own food until I was maybe... when I was able to run and climb a little? Bear still helped me though sometimes, cause other animals would come out of nowhere and take it from me. Before Kyou found me I was by myself for a little bit because Bear decided I was fine by myself- enough for him to go off somewhere. I ended up helping people who were lost or looking for something while he was gone. Then there was a storm days later."

"That's when Kyou found you, right?" Eri asks.

"Yeah. I was very scared then. Half of my tail was gone because of the tree, and anything could have come for me."

"Wait, your tail?" Shouta brings out a hand to gently turn him, gazing at his wispy tail. "Hehe, it's kind of cute actually. Almost like a fox."

"Does it feel different?" Ritsu asks Misaki, feeling the ends of his tail. "Does it still hurt?"

"At first it did, and I had to sleep on my stomach, but was okay. I just had to get used to it. It was hard getting into balance though."

"But you can still climb and everything?" Masamune questions.

"Of course! And I'll prove it too!" Misaki glances around until he sees a nearby tree. "I'll get up there faster than the both of you!" He runs. Immediately Ritsu and Masamune follow.

"Man," Shouta huffs, "I wish Hiroki and Nowaki were here. Nowaki could totally take them on."

"Huh? What about Hiroki?" asks An.

"Nah, he'll probably think this is stupid and just watch. He'll cheer for Nowaki though."

"YEAH!" Kazuto cheers a little loudly, seeing Masamune already on the tree. "Masamune's going to-" he shuts down having caught on to An and Shouta's amused looks. "Sorry."

"Um... I'm sorry," Sumiko begins hesitantly. "But I came here to ask about-"

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry," Eri straightens up. "You needed to ask me something?"

...

"You see," Sumiko takes out her cell phone and shows her a picture of a website. "I'm the one who wanted to move in to your apartment."

"That was you?"

"Yep! But..." she pauses as she gets out from the photo to look through her email. "You said this morning that if I photograph your wedding and everything for half and get you guys the flowers for 75% off I'll get the apartment and you'll pay three months rent for me. So," she gets to her question of importance. "You're getting marri-"

"When did I type that?!" Eri screeched, taking the cell phone and looking through it.

"Ooh, someone's being a sneaky fiancé," Shouta snickers, looking over her shoulder. "Sounds like a good deal."

"How is that a good deal?!" She was obviously more concerned about that instead of the fact that her fiancé got into her email.

"You do flowers too?" An asks Sumiko, deciding to be oblivious to the steaming bride-to-be. "You do an awful lot..."

"Oh, flowers are my Mom's. If she has something else going happening on the same day though I'll do it in her stead."

"I won, I won!" Misaki shouts out, running to Sumiko's lap. "I went to the top of the tree!"

"Only because that bird scared us!" Masamune cast a glare back at the tree. "It dived down at Ritsu!"

"It was just trying to get back to its nest," Ritsu says, being brought back to sit on An's lap now, the latter fixing his shirt worriedly.

"I bought some ice cream!" Kazuto re-arrives, handing everyone something. "Caught them before they left."

Shouta glances back and forth, impressed. "That was fast..."

"Can I have my phone back?" Sumiko asks Eri. The older woman was clutching on to it tightly as she began to text something into the phone's memo pad.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Eri startles, remembering this wasn't her cell phone.

"No one else wants the apartment right? I mean, I know it hasn't been that long since you put it up for rent but I'm more than ready now to take the offer. Is there anything else I can do?"

"There is one thing..."

* * *

**Ugh, I had it then I lost it. :/ Anyway, Akihiko next chapter! **


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks later...

"Why are we here, Father?" Haruhiko gazes around at the apartment hallway of the apartment they arrived to.

"It's a surprise." Fuyuhiko replies, though he himself wasn't sure. That woman only replied to his call once, but it was very unclear. One thing was sure enough though, and it was that he had to have Haruhiko meet that chibi neko.

Finally they reached their destination.

"This must be it," Fuyuhiko knocks, waiting patiently as he heard footsteps.

* * *

"Almost clean, huh Misaki?" Sumiko says happily to her little chibi neko. They were wiping the coffee table together.

"We're almost there!" Misaki cheers, before looking over at the desk near the back glass sliding door leading to the balcony. His shoulders slump a little at the ash blond neko blatantly ignoring them.

"It's okay, Misaki." Sumiko says, moving away from the coffee table to sit back on the couch. The little neko jumps over to sit on her lap. "He'll get used to us." She giggles, "He reminds me of Aito sometimes." He gives her a look. "Sometimes."

"He keeps saying I'm plain looking and dumb cause I can't speak our language."

"Don't listen to him." She pokes his cheek with gentle care. "You're the cutest little neko I've ever seen."

"Everyone says that about their own neko," Misaki mumbles, despite blushing a little at the comment.

"You know," she begins, "Maybe he can teach you how to speak in your own language."

Misaki's ears flatten a little. "I don't know... I can talk to cats and other animals though, does that count?"

"It counts for something, but," she strokes his little head. "The look on your face when others try to talk to you; I think it's best if you learn."

"Yeah..."

*knock*

"Ha?!" The long haired brunette immediately gets up, excited. "Our first guest!"

Jumping up to hang over her shoulder, Misaki frets at her. "You're wearing short shorts."

"Right!" She speeds to her room to put on sweatpants over her shorts before running to the door. "Okay!"

Opening the door, she greets with a smile. "Hello! What can I-" She pauses seeing the two business men. "...? Can I help you?"

Between the two men, Haruhiko looks to his father in confusion. "Father?"

"I... I believe Aikawa Eri resides here? Are you her roommate?" Fuyuhiko asks, hoping that was the case.

"Ah, she went ahead and moved in with her fiancé," Sumiko says, feeling Misaki tighten his grip on her shoulder.

"I see." The older man thoughtfully pauses before continuing. "Did she take that little neko of hers with her?" Misaki shuffles towards her neck to hide in her hair when Fuyuhiko looks at him for a moment. "Is this him?"

"No no, this is Misaki. Did you mean Akihiko? Umm..." she turns to look back at the quiet neko before debating inwardly. This couldn't be one of Akihiko's friends, or Eri's, so she felt lost. Eri didn't say anything to her about these business men. _'Should I call her?'_

"Ms. Aikawa didn't tell me someone had gotten to us first about Akihiko," Fuyuhiko begins, thinking about the next course of action. "We were more than ready to take him," he gestures to his son. "Haruhiko was hoping to meet him."

While stoic, Haruhiko was certainly holding a 'what?' expression in the back of his head. Never before has he felt so confused about his father's actions.

"I guess you can meet him..." she steps back. "Come on in."

...

"Aki?" The small neko turned at the voice, seeing Sumiko with her hands out for him to get on. "These two men want to talk to you."

"Don't want to," was the simple response. Violet eyes look off to the side before he goes to lay on the stomach of his teddy bear. "I'm going to sleep-" his eyes widened when she picks him up on her own.

"Sorry," she mumbles quietly, "But I don't think they're going to leave until you do. The older one at least. Just hear him out." Glaring at her, Akihiko pouts before crossing his arms. Giving him a small, apologetic smile, she takes him over.

"This is him?" Akihiko glares at the old man as he was set down on the coffee table. The other man sat next to him, waiting for instructions. "It's nice to meet you Akihiko," Fuyuhiko begins with a smile. "I am Usami Fuyuhiko, and this is my son, Haruhiko."

"What do you want?" Akihiko asks to the point, wanting no more than to lay on his Suzuki-san.

"I am aware that you haven't exactly chosen an owner, and I want to see if maybe Haruhiko is the one for you."

"No." He looks around for Sumiko, wanting to be carried back to his desk. He couldn't jump or climb that much, this pampered neko.

Fuyuhiko raises his brow. "No?"

"Father," Haruhiko starts, understanding now why his father brought him here. "You don't actually believe those rumors, do you? You can't possibly-"

"Ehh, so you came here for that?" Sumiko comes back out from hiding in the kitchen, Misaki on her head. She sets down some drinks for them. "I've heard of that too... Something about soul mates, right?" Misaki shrugs.

"You don't know?" Fuyuhiko questions. "I believe it was a standard that all nekos have soul mates, and that goes for their owners as well."

"That's not true." Akihiko glares at him. "My soul mate is a human."

"Aki..." Sumiko says worriedly, before telling Fuyuhiko her part. "Misaki doesn't really know the customs, so we don't really..."

"I wasn't raised with other nekos," Misaki pipes up, setting his chin comfortably on Sumiko's hair. "I was raised with Bear and Kyou."

"A bear?" Fuyuhiko quickly abandoned the subject about soul mates. "You were raised in the wild? A real bear?"

"Uh-huh," Misaki says in affirmative. "He still lives in the mountains, and Kyou is in Fukuoka right now."

"What kind of bear is your Bear?" Fuyuhiko takes out a small keychain from his pocket of a bear with its salmon. "Like this?"

"He mostly eats berries with me." Misaki cocks his head at the little trinket. "He stands like that though. I think he does that when I'm sleeping or not with him, cause sometimes he'll smell like fish."

"I see."

"Ah, I remember," Sumiko walks off to her room before coming back with some pictures and handing them to Fuyuhiko. "When we went up there months back I took these of the other bears we saw."

"Some of them got very possessive and grumpy," Misaki recalls. "They fight about who has that part of the river and stuff."

"...These are wonderful," Fuyuhiko went through them, astounded at the positions of the bear and the fish flying. Suddenly he stands, taking out bills from his pockets before handing them to her. "I'll take them all."

"!? Hah? Wait," she takes back the photos and hands him back his bills. "These aren't for sale! They're for my Dad!"

"Copies then? I want them made into sculptures."

"Can you wait until my Dad is through with them then? He wants to enter a contest soon with these."

"May I have his number then? I would love to see how he-"

Haruhiko stands up, not liking the bear talk. "Father, we have a meeting to attend to."

"Oh." He finally frowns before standing up and following, but not before bowing a little to Sumiko. "Thank you for the conversation." He hands her a card. "Call me when your father begins his contest entries."

"Okay." _'Well, this was weird.'_ She thought, recalling that they had wanted Akihiko.

"Can I please go sleep now?" Akihiko demands, irritated. He refused to admit he was interested in what the pictures looked like. He wanted to see the bears too.

At the door, the older man had a awed expression on his face before doing something on his cell phone.

9 minutes later...

"Father?" Haruhiko questions, him and Sumiko exchanging wary, awkward glances. "Can we leave now?"

"Oh yes. Hold on." He looks up at Sumiko. "Your name?"

"Hirakawa Sumiko...?" The two look on quizzically as the man went back to his phone.

"Ah... so you're a photographer?"

"Y-yes?" _'Why is he looking me up?'_

_'Why is he looking her up?'_ Haruhiko wondered, before his eyes widen in horror._ 'He... he's not interested in her, is he? What is he thinking? He can't...'_ He resisted the urge to gag, and he peers at the young woman._ 'She would reject him, right? She even refused his money...'_

Seeing that Akihiko was still on the table, Misaki jumps off Sumiko's head to reach him. "You're not going to sleep?"

[I'm waiting for her to take me.]

Misaki frowns. "You know I can't speak that."

"I'm waiting for her to take me. It wouldn't hurt to learn."

"I have no one to teach me." Misaki scoffs. "At least I can reach the desk without anyone's help."

Akihiko glares. [At least I'm not an idiot.] They glare at each other before Misaki sighs and turns around for him. "What?"

"Here, get on my back," Misaki offers, "I'll take you back to your teddy bear."

"Suzuki-san."

"I'll take you back to Suzuki-san." He held steady as Akihiko actually got on.

...

"You're really strong for a neko," Akihiko comments as Misaki leaps from the arm of the couch to the desk.

"No... not really." He put his hands on his knees after Akihiko gets off, panting slightly. Since Misaki was smaller than him, he definitely felt the difference in weight. The older neko was heavy.

Akihiko pauses in thought before patting his head. "Thanks." Misaki felt his chest flutter at the touch, cocking his head in confusion at the feeling until he realized Akihiko already went to his teddy bear, dozing on it immediately.

"Misaki..." The brunet chibi neko found Sumiko on the couch, seeming distressed because of something. Apparently the men left while he was with Akihiko.

"What is it?" he asks, leaping off the desk after a long stride to reach her. "What's wrong?"

"He... he told his son that he couldn't live at home anymore. How can you say that to someone in front of a stranger?"

"Huh?!" Misaki couldn't fathom why.

"And then he told him- us that he paid Ms. Aikawa and texted her and emailed me through his cell that he's going to live with us officially!"

"...Huh?"

"He said he can learn a thing or two from me, so that's why? I don't understand!" she cries. "All we did was end up talking about photos and bears! And the guy's like bigger than me, what can he learn from me?! How to cook? He looks like he sucks at it a little..."

"Aah-hah!" Misaki reached a conclusion. "He's keeping tabs on you to make sure you end up giving the photos of the bears to him!"

"Should... should I have just made copies?" She rests her forehead on her knees. "But I don't want to face plagiarism if he ends up using the photos for commercial use, and then people see Dad's contest entries!"

"How is it plagiarism when you're responsible for both sets of photos?!"

* * *

**What is Fuyuhiko planning? Akihiko is a little more childish in here in his little chibi neko form.**

**I think Suzuki-san is the few of the characters that I use the suffix -san. **


	5. Chapter 5

_'Dad, I know you said to never move in with a man unless I've been dating him for a year or he was one of the guys, but...' _Sumiko glances uncomfortably at the suitcases an apparent butler was bringing in one by one.

"I'll be in your care," she hesitantly looks back to the front, to the older man giving her a bow with a most expressionless face.

_'He's neither.'_

...

"I wake up at 6 and leave at 7." He hands her a piece of paper. "This is my cell phone number along with Tanaka's and my father."

_'Why would I need their numbers?! Who's Tanaka?! Is it that butler?!' _

"I have a meeting to attend to soon, so I'll be taking my leave." He nods to her and his butler unpacking his things for him before departing.

"..."

_'What now?'_ She turns to the butler, most likely Tanaka. _'Maybe I can help him..?'_

Before she can ask though, she waits in asking when she sees Misaki watching Tanaka curiously from the edge of the couch end closest to him.

Taking notice of him, the older suited man smiles down at the chibi neko. "Hello."

"H-hello!" Misaki starts, his eyes bright with energy. "U-uh... Sebastian!"

"Ah, my name is Tanaka."

"..."

"Oh..." The little neko looks downcast for a moment until Tanaka pats him on his little head with his finger.

"Will you please take here of Master Haruhiko for me?"

"A-Ah! I will! I will!" Misaki promises, pumped up. Tanaka laughs affectionately, patting him on the head again.

_'Cute...'_ Sumiko cooed inwardly, _'He's like a cute grandpa! Or father telling his son to take care of mommy or his little sibling!'_ A second later she finds herself looking over at Akihiko's desk, noticing no Akihiko in sight. Perplexed, she glances around and eventually takes note of the small opening of the sliding door to the balcony. _'Is he out there?'_

"Aki?" She pops her head out, looking around until she saw the tiny neko on the edge looking over at their next door neighbor. _'Ah...'_

She crept along, stepping carefully towards his direction. She stops when she sees a glimpse of Takahiro sitting on the couch with his... _'His fiancé? Ms. Aikawa said he was getting married, right?' _Eri had told her what she needed to know about Akihiko.

"What's wrong?" Misaki whispers suddenly to her, having noticed her disappearance and had jumped up onto her shoulder. "Sebas- I mean, Tanaka, I showed him the room Haruhiko's going to sleep in."

"Okay." They watch Akihiko for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Misaki tilts his head. "He looks sad."

"That man he likes his getting married."

"? Him?" he points to the little bit he can see of Takahiro and she nods. "How?"

"I don't know," she whispers back to him, "But he really liked him." She turns back to go inside. "Let's leave him alone for a while."

"Okay..." Misaki looks back as she takes him inside, the side of Akihiko's sad profile somehow getting his chest to ache in discomfort.

* * *

His roommates were a little too chummy, Akihiko decided. Out of the bath, he dried himself like a normal person, casting a glance to the other neko that was shaking his head and tail like an actual cat out of water. He could never do that. He didn't want to- well, shake his head yes, but regarding his tail he just dries it with his towel.

"Aki, why don't you sleep with us today?" Sumiko asks him, her pajamas on already and drying her hair with her towel by hand. "Suzuki-san can come too."

"No, thanks," Akihiko answers, not interested. "I'm just going to sleep."

"Oh, uh," Misaki goes up to him. "Tomorrow, can you teach me how to speak our language?"

Akihiko raises his brows. "You finally want to learn?"

"! Nh... It's not like that! I mean," Misaki falters, "I've never had to... speak like that, cause I don't see many of you guys. I've never grown up with any of you guys either, only Bear, other animals, Kyou, and the people Kyou knows..." Sumiko squats down next to him, ruffling his head of hair gently.

"...Okay, I will," Akihiko replies after a long moment of contemplation. "If..."

"If what?" Misaki asks, eager.

He stares up at the two seriously. "I want to see those bear pictures."

"Eeh..." Sumiko giggles, "You wanted to see them?"

"We can just show you," Misaki continues on her behalf. "Is there something else you want instead?"

Akihiko thought for a moment. "Can we have eggs for breakfast?"

"Huh?" Sumiko says, "But we did have eggs..."

"No, an omelet."

"Omelet?" Misaki cocks his head. "That's it?"

Akihiko nods. "And don't give me no more green bell peppers."

_'We only had them once and it was on the side...'_ Sumiko thought.

"You don't like them? But they're healthy for you!" Misaki exclaims.

"No. I don't like the taste."

"So," Sumiko tries to recall her knowledge of him from Eri. "You don't like too sweet and bitter tastes?"

He nods once more.

"I see..."

"That's not good though, bell peppers are good for you!" Misaki says determinedly.

"No."

"Misaki, it'll be okay," Sumiko coos. "Until after you learn what you need to, then you can try feeding him some," Sumiko calms him.

Akihiko glares. "What?"

"He's a good cook," she tells him. "And it wouldn't hurt, you need all the good stuff you can get!" Huffing at that, the ash blond neko turns his head away before requesting to be taken with them so he can see the bear photos.

* * *

It was around 11PM when Haruhiko came home.

"Welcome back," Sumiko greets, halfway putting up leftovers thinking that he was probably eating out. She felt urged to ask anyway, "Hungry?"

...

"Thank you for the meal," Haruhiko says before eating his meal.

"Eat as much as you want," Sumiko answers back, before walking over into the living room part and sitting on the couch.

Beside her, Akihiko was going through warm-ups with Misaki while he was going through some of the photos.

[I-I...] Misaki struggles. [I am Misaki?] This felt easy in a way since he can just say his name after the first two words.

"Good." The older neko raises his brow at a particular photo before continuing. "Now say [My name is Misaki] which is my name is..." he leaves that part up in the air.

[Mnm...]

[My.]

Misaki swallows. [M..My...]

"What are they doing?" Haruhiko asks Sumiko when she walks back to get something to drink.

"Aki's teaching Misaki how to speak their language. Misaki was raised in the forest until Mr. Ijuuin- you'll see him sometime- found him, and he never really interacted with other nekos so he never got to learn it."

"I see."

"You never really talked to them yet, huh?" She takes up a seat next to him. "Go introduce yourself after this, they don't bite."

"..." Haruhiko takes a look at Akihiko with his cool exterior. "My father wanted me to meet him."

"Did you ever ask him why?"

"No. It would be pointless anyhow. I gathered as much from the other day- he was hoping I would match up with Akihiko and find someone to be with."

"Ehh, really?"

"Do you believe in it? What they say about them?"

"The soul-mate stuff?" She shrugs. "I don't know. I think it works for some people. But I think your father shouldn't depend on that to help you find someone. It wouldn't be all that good for you if it doesn't work out. How do you want to do it?"

"Do what?"

"Find someone to date and take them out. Did you ever like any of your past dates?"

Haruhiko pauses for a moment. "Not that much at all. Half of them were set up by my father."

"Eehh..." She props her elbows on the table and rests her head on her hands in interest. "Was it like in the dramas? Were they obvious gold diggers or something? Were some them the flirty revealing ones? Did some flirt with the waiters in an attempt to grab your attention but you were left unimpressed?"

"..." He stares at her with a mix of coolness and worry, wondering what was with her.

"...?" She waits for his answer, pulling at some straws trying to get a feel of what her roommate was like. It was hard to read him.

"...Yes."

"Yes!" She cheers, before calming down and trying to be rational. "I mean no- that's really rude of her did you tell your father?" She reverts back to propping herself on her elbows and waiting for his response.

"No. I don't think he would care."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I see..."

There was a long pause before Haruhiko asked something. "Do you work? I thought you all would be sleeping."

"Nah, I'm taking a break unless my Mom really needs me. I just want to relax right now."

_'Lucky.'_ Haruhiko couldn't help but feel this was unfair. Then again, he couldn't disappoint his father when it comes to work...

* * *

**Mehehea... Fall break is upon some of us! Have a good one!**


End file.
